The History of the Stockton and Darlington Railway

Efforts that kept the mines afloat
Before the birth of the railways in 1825, coal was hoofed over the hills of County Durham to the sea

Railway the result of a race into the future
As the summer of 1818 turned, the towns of the Tees valley were engaged in a race into the future.

Lords left a-leaping in efforts to block the railway pioneers
Lord Darlington was desperate to stop the railway. So desperate, in fact, that he tried to break the bank.

How Pease's savings rescued the railway
The King is dead! Long live the King! The Railway Bill is dead! Will the railway ever come to life?

Kitchen table talks that changed railway history
On the evening of April 19, 1821, two strangers approached the front door of Edward Pease's home in Northgate, Darlington.

The little rail that was to be 'a potent sceptre'
Some time in October 1821, in a field near the River Tees at Stockton, George Stephenson accosted some farm labourers.

How railway builders took on the fairies
When, in the 17th Century, a Frenchman called Solomon de Caux predicted that one day everything would move by steam power, he was locked up in a Paris asylum.

Locomotive delay which held up start of railways
In principle, the idea was commendably simple. George Stephenson and his son, Robert, would be set up in business to build locomotives for the Stockton and Darlington Railway.

How first railway architect became a figure of note
Where brooks and becks stood in the way of the railway pioneers, George Stephenson was allowed to throw single span arches over them.

Lawyers and locomotives both provided headaches
As 1825 dawned, it looked like the Stockton and Darlington Railway was running out of steam.

No match for the advent of Locomotion
And lo, the locomotive arrived, and the people were sore afraid...

Breakdowns and bruises, but the railway is still a runaway success
The dawn of Tuesday, September 27, 1825, found thousands of people heading on foot, horseback and by carriage to see the entrance of a new era of transport: the railway.

Locomotion steams in the new era to 21-gun salute and nine cheers
It had taken Locomotion No 1 two hours to travel the nine miles from Brusselton to Darlington on the opening morning of the Stockton and Darlington Railway (S&DR).

After the triumphant start came railway's hard struggle to survive
The railway was up and running. The first train, triumphantly pulled by Locomotion No 1, had passed along the 20 miles from Shildon to Stockton via Darlington on September 27, 1825.

A royal asset that rose from the ashes after Hope had died
Timothy Hackworth solemnly rose to address the committee of the Stockton and Darlington Railway.

Complex birth of first railway town
Early in 1828, Joseph Pease sailed up the River Tees towards what he was calling Port Darlington.

Momentous events that saw t'iron hoss triumph over the real thing
After eight years of operation, the Stockton and Darlington Railway, which celebrates its 175th anniversary next month, fully embraced steam power.

Southern Quaker who helped to shape North
Went by railway from Darlington to Stockton by steam - 56 minutes - then down to Middlesbro'; inspected the clay as to a scheme for the establishment of a pottery, then walked thro' the town, much increased in two years.

The 'forgotten' railway station at centre of anniversary festivities
THE world's first passenger coach, the Experiment, had been a shed fixed to wheels, so it is little surprise that the early stations on the world's first passenger railway were also wooden constructions in which nowadays we would keep spades and other gardening paraphernalia.